"Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom." Psalms 51:6
So much of modern life is for appearances, for "likes," "followers" and sound bites. It can become easy to gravitate toward managing our reputation rather than learning to "possess our soul." (Luke 21:19) When the immediate takes precedence over the prudent, we major on minor things and grow lopsided.
God's Word Transforms
God still calls his children through Holy Spirit and through His word in the Bible. Within the pages of the Bible (I am partial to the King James Version) we find nurture, admonition, reproof, warning, wisdom, truth, promises, and so much more! At first glance, it can seem antiquated, as if it were a sacred text speaking only to a bygone era. A deeper study, however, reveals the greater mysteries of personal and cultural wisdom and the life-transforming power of the glory of God.
Our Hidden Part
In Psalms 51, King David, who had risen from obscurity to become King of all Israel, came face to face with the hidden truth about himself. Having committed adultery and arranged for Uriah's murder, David felt he had successfully solved the problem of impregnating Uriah's wife Bathsheba. Often our attempts to correct our failings, without true repentance, can create even bigger problems for ourselves and others. David would have lived, and appeared to thrive, unchecked if it were not for the voice of the prophet. Nathan the prophet asks King David in 2 Samuel 12:9, "Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight?"
Despising godly foundations is a great temptation whenever we desire to justify sin. Yet the consequences of sin, public or private, are great. Certainly, as King, no one could accuse or judge David for his deeds. He was seemingly untouchable. Yet we are always fully known to God. King David paid a heavy price for his sin done in secret, yet God offered a way of restoration and mercy once he was willing to face the truth about himself. When we search for truth and righteousness, we must look past the politics of the day to the "author and finisher of our faith." (Hebrews 12:2) David was "a man after God's own heart" early in his life, and even after personal failure, he humbled himself to be rightly related to his heavenly Father once again. In Psalms 51, David asks God to "Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin [is] ever before me." (verses 2-3)
When we search for truth and righteousness, we must look past the politics of the day to the "author and finisher of our faith." (Hebrews 12:2)
Heirs with Christ
In our flesh it is impossible to please God for we cannot keep the law. We must attain righteousness through faith. Today, we have the benefit of God's Holy Spirit to guide us into a right relationship. By accepting Jesus, the Christ, as our personal Lord and Savior, we become heirs with Christ, Himself. Our baptism into salvation opens our eyes to God's mysteries in the Bible. It is through this lens that we are able to humble ourselves to seek God's timeless and eternal truth.
Let us not compromise for popularity or worldliness and all that it allows in the name of "self." Let us rather labor to be rightly related to God in truth that righteousness, peace, and joy may be ours always! We are building a spiritual house that transcends this life and generation. Each decision we make sets us on a path; let us carefully "choose whom we will serve." (Joshua 24:15)